In the days and weeks following the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School that happened a year ago today, parents and students from across the region flocked to school board meetings seeking answers and reassurance.

State and local police were brought in, emergency plans were re-examined and new security measures were discussed. A sense of fear and confusion was palpable as parents sought to comprehend an incident that left 20 elementary children and six adults dead inside a school not unlike the ones their own children attended.

Soon after Adam Lanza methodically shot and killed his victims, superintendents and school officials sought to find a way to keep their staff and students safe without turning their schools into fortresses. The hiring of armed guards was discussed and ultimately dismissed — at least in this part of the state — and prices for bulletproof glass, upgraded camera systems, door locks and panic buttons were compared and later put out to bid.

Schools were no longer seen as safe havens, but as potential targets.

Four days after the tragedy, Putnam Board of Education Chairman Michael Morrill sat in front of a room full of anxious students, staff and parents during a school board meeting. He fielded questions about the district’s building security and what further steps were planned. After a few minutes, he added a cautionary note.

“There is no simple answer to this issue,” Morrill said. “But there are an amazing number of things we could do wrong, including making our schools target-hardened. The two things we are sure that work are engaging each other and being aware.”

And while awareness and engagement were themes running through forums and special meetings across the region, so were more tangible solutions. Since September, the state has allocated $21 million for school security upgrades, money districts have used for a variety of passive and active security upgrades.

Locally, the bulk of the state money was earmarked for new monitoring systems.

In Killingly, new security cameras and monitors are slated to be added and older models swapped out for those with wider and clearer views. A plan to install “impact-resistant” glass at the elementary schools — a proposal brought forward years before the Newtown shootings — was dusted off and implemented.

“We’ve made sure that it’s known that security is everyone’s job, from the bus drivers on up,” said Killingly Superintendent Kevin Farr. “There’s the physical security side, with cameras and door locks, but also the increased focus on awareness.”

Farr lauded the state for putting more money into mental health evaluations, something he said could help prevent problems in the future. He said the mindset among students has undergone a change since Lanza’s rampage.

“It used to be they’d think it’s no big deal to leave the school and run out to their cars, maybe putting a rock or pencil in the door to keep it open,” Farr said. “Now they know that type of activity will set off alarms.”

Page 2 of 2 - In Norwich, the district’s safety and security protocols have been in place far longer than the year since Sandy Hook.

When she took over as superintendent three years ago, Abby Dolliver implemented a strict policy that requires all faculty and staff to wear clearly marked identification cards.

“We have already locked our buildings and have cameras,” she said. “We had those things in place more than a year ago.”

Officials have gradually added to their security network with better lighting and the installation of additional cameras. Each middle school is also staffed with an on-site resource officer.

“It’s all about knowing who is in our buildings at all times,” Dolliver said.

In Windham, Superintendent Ana Ortiz instructed administrators to do walk-throughs of their buildings and note areas that might be security concerns. Loose doors and windows without blinds were identified and fixed. Like at most other schools in the region, entry buzzers were installed at each school entrance, and the entryways are now locked all day. Panic buttons were installed in each main office and state grant money was used to install radio boxes that connect the panic buttons directly to the police department, an upgrade designed to speed emergency notification and reduce response times.

Windham resident Louise Sullivan, who has young children who aren’t in school yet, said security will play a role in whether her family chooses to stay in town or possibly move elsewhere.

“I’m not sure if you can protect schools from everything, but I want to know they’re trying,” Sullivan said.

In Franklin, residents also crowded Board of Education meetings after the shooting to offer up ideas to improve safety, including having armed security patrolling the grounds, an idea that was also discussed in Preston. Neither district adopted the plan.

Franklin instead got some low-cost help from a resident and local electrician, Jarrod Nasin, who volunteered time on nights and weekends to improve the school’s security. He installed cameras and a recording system, a system to automatically shut classroom doors in a lockdown and other improvements such as more lighting.

Nasin’s motivation for the work was his daughter, a student at the school.

“She’s going to be going here the next few years, and that was the main reason for doing this,” he said at the time.

At that Putnam school board meeting a year ago, Superintendent William Hull ran through a list of steps his staff had taken to address school security. Before the meeting adjourned, Hull left attendees with a final thought.

“We want to find that balance between a warm, loving environment and safety,” Hull said. “And, statistically, schools are the safest place for children.”